Photographic-printing machine



April 10, 1928. 1,666,053

. A. K. CHAPMAN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15. 1924 Z5 Z5 4 5 y. 6

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Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ALBERT K. CHAPMAN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ALSSIGNOR TO EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PHOTOGRAPHIC-PRINTING MACHINE.

Application filed December 15, 1-924. Serial- No. 756,124.

This invention relates to photography, and more particularly to photographicprinting machines. It has for its chief object to provide a means for securing good contact around the printing stamp. Another ob ect is to provide a supplementary pressure member for securing the desired pressure around the stamp. Another object is to provide a. means for suitably mounting the additional pressure member, and to space said member from the platen the proper distance to cooperate with the usual paper holding member carried by the platen. Still another object is to reduce materially the area around the stamp in which the paper is not in contact with either the stamp or a pressure member, and other objects will appear hereinafter from the specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

A large business has been built up in developing and printing from amateurs negatives, and it is customary to number each order. Ord'narily a numbered envelope is provided for the negative and prints, each of which bear a number or other designating character. In printing, these identifying marks are usually placed on the prints automatically as the paper lies in the machine.

Since the marginal area is frequently small and is usually trimmed off, the number is generally placed on the back of aprinted area, which makes it necessary to print through an aperture in the platen back. This aperture greatly increases the difiiculty of obtaining good contact between the paper and negative, and as loss of contact produces poor definition, or fuzzy areas on the prints this is important.

I have found that the size of the aperture for the stamp may be greatly reduced by using a thin plate having one or more edges adapted to lie close to the type carrying members, and the size may be further reduced by providing spring plates which open when the platen is raised and closed when it lowered. The additional pressure put on the paper immediately around the stamp tends to hold the area surrounding. the stain but not contacting. with the platen itset. The following and drawing will describe and illustrate several preferred forms of. my invention.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, parts being shown in section of a printing machine constructed in accordance with, and illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a portion of contact securing members illustrating another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 3 a fragmentary section taken on line of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan View of the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 1 I

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 -5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of one of the contact securing members shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of still another type of contact securing spring.

In Fig. 1 the printing machine is shown as consisting of a top casting 1, in which there is a glass printing panel 2, beneath which there is located the printing lamp in the usual manner. A platen 3 is mounted above the panel, and is movable. by means of a handle 4t which operates one link 5 of a bell crank lever, which is supported by a shaft 6 carried by a resilient support 7. and which in turn is attached to lugs 8 of the platen. Arm 9 of the bell crank lever forms one link of a toggle, being pivoted at 10 to the upper toggle link 11. This link is supported on a shaft 12 carried by the bracket 13, which preferably forms a part of the casting 1.

Link 11 carries a stud 14 on which a link 15 is pivoted, this link being also pivoted to a shaft 16. A link 17 is carried by shaft 16 and by a stud 18supported by the bracket 13. These two links form the end support of a stamp carrier 29, to be hereinafter more fully described.

The platen 3 is pivotally supported upon a shaft 19 carried by brackets 20. Arms 21' extend from the shaft to the platen. This is preferabl made from a casting and may have side e ges 22 and: an aperture 23' cut in the-bottom. This aperture provides a space through which a printing stamp 2 T may operate. l ihen the handle t is raised, the links 9 and ll assume the position shown in the dashed and dotted lines 9 and ll, and the platen is swung about its hinge.

The stamp carrier 29 supports the stamp 24. upon a pluralit i of screws 27. Springs 28 hold the stamp t l resiliently away from the carrier. This stamp may be of any preferred type, but preferably of: the 'typehaving a series of type-carrying discs 25. These may be changed by means of a plunger 26. The stamp carrier consists of a plate 29 having flanges through which the shafts 16 and 30 may pass. This carrier is supported from the bottom by means of a link 31 attached at 32 to the casting. l' i hen the handle at is raised, a stamp Q-l will move from the position shown in full lines at 24L to the position shown in dashed lines at 24:, being moved. through a substantially arcuate path P. The full line position shows the stamp in printing position, and the dashed line in an inking position, in which the type carried by discs 25 rest against an ink pad 33, which may be carried in a cup 3% seated in an aperture in the printer top.

Coming now to my invention,in order to partially close the aperture 23 through which the stamp operates so as to provide a. means for securing good contact between the paper P and a negative N lying upon the panel 2 beneath the opening 23, I provide the following contact securing members. In the form shown in Figs. 1, land 5, metal plates 40 are attached to the platen by means of screws 42 which pass through apertures 41 in the plates. These plates are preferably provided with beveled edges 43, since this permits the plate to more nearly approaeh the type carried by discs 25. I also prefer tobend over the edges 44 of these plates so as to space them from the platen a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the pressure pad 36, which may eonsist of the usual layer of felt or plush. This arrangement not only spaces the spring plates 40 from the platen but it provides a suitable spring mount tor the plates, which preferably have curved :laces. as indicated in Fig. 4. Vhen, however, the plates are pressed upon the paper they strike the paper in advance of pad 36, and lie flat against it, as shown in Fig. 5, when the platen is completely lowered.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 6, I have shown another embodiment of my invention wherein the two longitudinal edges of the type discs 25 lie close to the plates which are attached to the platen by screws 51 and the two end edges otthe stamp are adjacent the end plates 52, which are attached by screws 53 to the platen. As shown in Fig. 3, these plates may be spaced by bars 51 tron-i the platen, and are preferably bent, as shown in this figure, so as to exert a downward pressure upon the printing paper when the platen is lowered. In this modification, I have shown the pad 36 as extending slightly below the outer face of the bars 54, and plates 50 and 52, since the pad 36 is comprcssible to a limited extent. Each of the plates 50 and 52 are, as shown in Fig. 2, preferably made of spring metal which is bent, as shown in -lull lines. Screw holes 53' are provided. IV hen the spring s'rik'es the paper, however, it is moved upwardly into the dashed lines position, in which the entire lower face 56 of the spring plates contacts with the paper.

In Fig. 7 still another embodiment of my invention is shown. In this case a single curved spring metal plate 6-0 is provided. This plate has a central aperture 61 which is of a size to permit the stamp to function through it. The edges of this plate may be bent, as shown at 62, so as to form flanges 63 which may be attached in any suitable manner, as by screws passing through apertures 64 to the platen. It should be noted, that the apertures 64 are somewhat elongated so that one end of the spring may slide upon its supporting screws. This permits the spring to flex when. the platen is lowered so that practically the entire surfaces of this spring will tend to pi out any unevenness of the paper and thereby hold it tightly against the negative.

Obviously large numbers of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. I, therefore, contemplate as within the scope of my inven tion all such alterations or modifications as may come within the terms of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with an apertured platen adapted to move to and from a printing panel to press printing paper and a negative together. of a printing stamp adapted to operate through the aperture in the platen and a spring carried by the platen and lying adjacent a side of the aperture in the platen for securing contact between the paper and negative adjacent the stamp.

2. In a photographic printing machine the combination with a platen having an aperture therein adapted to press a sheet of photographic paper and a negative together upon a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the aperture in the platen. and two paper contacting members carried by the platen, one member being adapted to press the major portion of the paper against the negative, and the other member being adapted to press the paper against the negative near the printing stamp.

lift) 3. In a photographic printing machine the combination with a platen having an aperture therein adapted to press a sheet of photographic paper and a negative together upon a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the aperture in the platen, and two independent paper contacting members carried by the platen, one for pressing the paper against the negative throughout the major portion of the sheet, and one for pressing the paper against the negative throughout a limited area near the stamp.

4. In a photographic printing machine the combination with a platen having an aperture therein adapted to press a sheet of photographic paper and a negative together upon a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the aperture in the platen, and two differentially resilient paper contacting members, one for pressing the paper and negative together over the major portion of the platen, and the other for pressing the paper and negative together near the stamp.

5. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and a resilient plate adapted to partially close the aperture in the platen, the resiliency of the plate tending to move it so that when the platen is raised the plate is spaced from the stamp, and when the platen is lowered upon the printing panel, the plate is moved toward the stamp.

6. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from. a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and a resilient plate adapted to partially close the aperture in the platen, a pad on the platen for contacting with the paper and the negative, said resilient plate being arranged to contact with the paper in advance of the pad as the platen is lowered toward the panel.

7. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and having type for contacting with the paper, a resilient plate adapted to partially close the platen aperture adapted to be close to thetype of the stamp, the edges of said plate being beveled.

S. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and a resilient plate adapted to partially close the aperture in the platen, said plate being provided with an edge bent over to space a part of the plate from the platen.

9. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and a. resilient plate adapted to partially close the aperture in the platen, a bent over edge on the plate, and means associated with the bent over edge for fastening the plate to the platen.

10. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a platen having an aperture therein and being adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to function through the aperture, and a resilient plate adapted to partially close the aperture, a bent over edge on the plate for attaching the plate to the platen, and a pad on the platen adapted to press a sheet of paper against a negative, the bent over edge being adapted to space the plate from. the platen adistance approximately equal to the thickness of the pad.

11. In a printing machine, the combination with an apertured platen adapted to move to and from the printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the opening, a resilient member carried by the platen for reducing the size of the opening, said resilient member being adapted to press printing paper against a negative carried by the printing panel when the platen is moved into contact with the printing panel.

12. In a printing machine, the combination with an apertured platen adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the opening, and separate pressure obtaining members carried by the platen, each pressure member being adapted to exert pressure upon an area of the panel when the platen is lowered, one pressure member being adapted to exert a greater pressure upon the panel than the other.

13. In a printing machine, the combination with an apertured platen adapted to move to and from a printing panel, of a stamp adapted to operate through the opening, and separate pressure obtaining members carried by the platen, each pressure member being adapted to exert pressure upon an area of the panel when the platen is lowered, one pressure area being close to the stamp and the other area being spaced therefrom, the pressure exerted by the first mentioned member being greater than that ex erted by the second mentioned member.

Signed at Rochester. New York, this 11th day of December, 1924.

ALBERT K. CHAPMAN. 

